The US tech giant Apple was issued on Monday a Statement of Objections by the EU Commission arguing that it has abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices to benefit Apple Pay, the EC stated in its press release.
The document states that Apple has effectively barred third-party services from accessing software and hardware on its devices facilitating contactless payments by abusing its dominant position in the market.
According to the EC’s competition policy head, Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, the EU had preliminary data suggesting that Apple might have restricted competition with its supposedly abusive practices to benefit Apple Pay, preventing them access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices.
Apple’s own mobile wallet solution on iPhones and iPads – Apple Pay – enables mobile payments in physical stores and online and forms a closed ecosystem with the devices with Apple controlling every aspect of the user experience in it, including the access of the mobile wallet developers.
Jointly known as the near-field communication technology or NFC, the hardware and software in question helps people make purchases with a quick tap by allowing them interact with payment terminals in stores.
Apple, according to the European regulators, bars PayPal and other similar services from accessing it on iPhones and Apple Watch.
Vestager warned that such conduct if confirmed, would be illegal under the EU competition rules. If it fails to reach a settlement with the EU, Apple, which will have the opportunity to respond or challenge this assessment before the final judgment is announced, can be fined up to 10% of its global revenue, which can amount to $36 billion.
Apple, which has so far denied any wrongdoing, claims that as one of the many options European consumers have for making payments, grants equal access to NFC while setting industry-leading standards for privacy and security.
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